


Daddy's Coming

by charlietheepic7



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adopted Children, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Evil, Dad Ozpin, Dysfunctional Family, Evil Ozpin, Family, Functional Family, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Other, Past Abuse, Pseudo-Incest, References to Depression, You decide!, evil family, reverse au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:01:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28713198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlietheepic7/pseuds/charlietheepic7
Summary: Ozpin liked to think he was a good father. He had nine adopted children, so it was a little difficult, but he managed.If only destroying the four kingdoms was as easy as raising his kids.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Ozpin & Oscar Pine, Ozpin & Ruby Rose, Ozpin & Team JNPR, Ozpin & Team RWBY
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	1. The Day Me and My Sister were Kidnapped

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Germanhowl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Germanhowl/gifts).



Ruby walked down the street with her big sister Weiss and the 4 goons her big sister Yang got them by blackmailing Junior. There was a skip in her step; she was only 14, so Daddy didn’t want her directly involved with his work. Working to destroy Salem and the Academies was dangerous after all! But after hours of begging, she had finally managed to convince him to let her help!

Weiss yanked the back of Ruby’s hood. She choked. “Will you stop? Dad gave us a serious mission, Ruby!”

Ruby pouted. “I know!” she whined. “I’m just… excited.” Even for something as boring as robbing Dust stores. But even something as small as that contributed to Daddy’s overarching plan, so she tried not to complain. Plus, if she complained, he probably wouldn’t let her help anymore. 

She knew it was a bad idea, but she hoped that they would run into a Huntsman. Just a low-leveled one, maybe even a student, so she could test her skills! She had only sparred against her siblings and Uncle Hazel, or fought against Daddy’s Grimm, but those were no fun. Everyone held back against her and the Grimm were programmed to never harm her or her siblings. Ruby wanted a real challenge. 

“Oh!” Up ahead, a neon sign read  _ From Dust ‘Til Dawn. _ It was a little shop and, considering the late hour, appeared to be completely deserted. “Weiss, look!” She said, pointing and tugging on her sister’s sleeve. 

Weiss huffed. “Ugh, finally. I thought we were never going to find a Dust store open this late.” She tightened her ponytail and drew her sword. “Let’s get this over with.” 

Weiss and the lackies easily managed to hold up the Dust store, even without Ruby unsheathing Crescent Rose. Ruby tried to pay attention, but the shop was so cool! There was more than Dust and Dust Crystals; there were books, and tools, and even weapon modifications! Ruby pocketed an extra cartridge of Dust shells when no one was looking, then giggled to herself. She couldn’t help herself. It was her first time in a city as big as Vale and everything was so new and cool and-

“Ruby!” Weiss was glaring at her! She gestured at the cylinders of Dust already collected, a large shard of Fire Dust in her hand. “Start bagging everything, I want us out quickly.”

“A-Ah! Yes!” Ruby rushed to obey, berating herself internally. How could she forget!? She was the one who wanted to help, she needed to pay attention! Ruby rushed over to the canisters and started packing them away in their bags. The canisters were one of the few ways to transport highly compacted Dust safely; Ruby knew this because Weiss had bragged about it for weeks after stealing dozens of them from her original father. With a Dust shop of this size, they only needed 8 of them. 

Though, she still thought it was weird that Weiss had an original father. Yang said they had one too, that they had been blood siblings through him until Daddy adopted them, but Ruby wasn’t sure she was telling the truth. She didn’t remember an original father, only Daddy, but from what Ruby understood about the rest of her siblings, that was a good thing. Original fathers died or hurt you or ignored you and stopped loving you. Only Daddy cared about them. In that, she and Oscar were lucky; as the youngest in their family, they didn’t remember anyone other than Daddy. 

Almost all of the Dust was packed, when one of the lookout minions called out, “Boss! I think there’s a Huntress coming this way!” 

“Damn,” Weiss snarled, pocketing the fire Dust Crystal. “You four, buy us some time. Ruby, get to the Bullhead. I’ll finish up here.” 

Finish up here? But weren’t they already finished?

One of the grunts tried to protest. “But Boss-” 

In a flash, Weiss jabbed her sword into the face of the protestor, mere centimeters from his eye. “Distract. Her. I’ll finish her off once everything is taken care of.” She glared at Ruby. “The Dust. Now!”

Ruby nodded her head, her hands only shaking a little bit as she packed the rest of the Dust. In a burst of rose petals, she was outside the shop and a few more bursts later, she was on top of the roof where Pyrrha was to pick them up in the Bullhead. She looked back. She couldn’t see much from where she was, but Ruby could see the ominous purple of a semblance in use. Dread opened up in her stomach as a white figure exited the looted shop. 

Glynda Goodwitch. Of all the people Weiss was fighting, it was the guard dog of that  _ witch _ . 

The air around her whipped as the Bullhead rose behind her, Ruby hair stinging her face and her hood accidently flying up and over her head. She jumped into the open hatch, secured the bag, and ducked into the cockpit. “Weiss is in trouble!” Ruby shouted over the propellers. “Goodwitch showed up!”

Pyrrha’s eyes widened in concern and she directed the Bullhead to the fight. Ruby couldn’t believe her eyes. 

Because Weiss was losing. Badly. 

In the minutes that Ruby had left her, Weiss had managed to cover half the street in ice - she preferred fighting with Ice Dust, earning her the nickname Ice Queen for both that and her icy attitude - but Glynda managed to use it against her. Weiss was clearly on her last leg, panting and using her sword to keep herself up. The goons Junior had given them were nowhere to be found. 

As the Bullhead hovered above, Weiss looked up and waved them away. She wanted them to leave without her. But their arrival brought them to Goodwitch’s attention too and, to Ruby’s horror, the Huntress waved her whip at them and the ship glowed with her semblance. The emergency siren wailed as Pyrrha tried to pull up despite the telekinesis. Ruby shot a few rounds off at her with Crescent Rose, only for Goodwitch to dodge gracefully. 

Ruby bite her cheek. If Goodwitch got a hold of Pyrrha, then… “I’ll distract her!” Ruby shouted at the cockpit. “You escape with the Dust!”

“What!?” Pyrrha sounded horrified. “No! I’m not leaving you two!”

“You have to! Salem can’t get the Fall Maiden!” Ruby twirled Crescent Rose. She knew she couldn’t defeat Goodwitch, at least not yet, but… she couldn’t get Pyrrha. And she wouldn’t leave Weiss alone. “Go home! Tell Daddy what happened, he’ll make a plan to get us back! Now leave!”

And with that, Ruby leapt from the hold, determined to fight a battle she couldn’t win.

* * *

Salem sighed as she looked out over Vale. Usually, she revelled in the view; the city was stunning and she could see everything from her tower. But the night was dark, and her office bright, so all she could see was her perfect reflection. 

It made her think of simpler times. Back when she still had Ozma, back before the Grimm, back before those thrice damned Gods who eternally tortured her. 

Earlier that evening, she had overseen the transfer of the remaining powers of the Fall Maiden, Amber, over to Cinder, a young girl she had taken under her wing some time ago. Another Maiden safe from Ozpin’s wrath, at least, until they managed to obtain the entirety of Amber’s powers. Somehow, Ozpin had created a way to steal away a Maiden’s powers, and didn’t that just irk her. If she had that ability, she would have made sure that Maidens were only people she found trustworthy, like her Cinder or Glynda when she was younger. 

But no. It figured that something Ozma created would be just as annoying as the man himself. 

The scroll on her desk began to buzz, distracting her from her train of thought. It was Glynda. Her second-in-command would only call if it was important. Salem schooled her face into a genial expression and accepted the call. 

“Headmistress. I’m over at the Police Precinct right now.”

“Oh? What happened, Glynda?”

“A Dust store robbery. Fourth one this week, but this time we were able to capture two of the masterminds behind it, though one and the Dust got away. They…” She sighed. “There’s no easy way to say this, Salem. The culprits are Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose.”

Salem had heard of Weiss Schnee before. A child societe, kidnapped days after her tenth birthday party. But Ruby Rose… Summer’s daughter… “Are they alright?” she asked, though Salem didn’t really care about the Schnee girl. 

“They’re fine, but it gets worse. The police searched them after they were captured and Salem… It’s probably best if I just sent you a picture.”

Her scroll buzzed again and a photo from Glynda appeared. It was of two opened lockets, both a beautiful silver with clockwork etchings. Inside were pictures of both girls, in similar positions. But behind each girl… was Ozpin, looking as sickly pale as all his reincarnations, all black veins and red eyes and sharp teeth. He was smiling sinisterly at the camera, with his hands possessively on each girls’ shoulders. 

Salem’s heart dropped. “Oh.  **_Oh, no_ ** .”

* * *

Ozpin’s head dropped into his hands as he inhaled. That Branwen shit - the younger one - was trying to discover his base again. Ever since he first adopted Oscar, and then the rest of his children, Ozpin took great strides to make sure no one could ever locate his headquarters, or the Grimm pits nearby. Still, that damn bird tried his patience every time he tried to find them. 

Maybe it was time to kill him? Ozpin had found his existence hilarious - him and his sister - which is why he turned them into birds, but the annoyance outweighed the entertainment. 

He could send his Hellraiser after Qrow. That would be funny, seeing Qrow killed by his own niece. Although, Yang didn’t really  _ like  _ killing people, so he’d have to frame Qrow as a threat to Ruby…

None of his kids really liked committing acts of evil, which Ozpin could understand. He didn’t like being evil either before his bath in the Grimm pits! But in this economy? Evil was the only way to get things  _ done _ . Salem had already cornered the market of having a good, helpful persona, not that Ozpin really wanted to be good or helpful. It seemed like it was too much effort. And would take too much time away from his kids. 

And would probably involve even more paperwork. Ugh, he had enough of that already.

Maybe he could take a pack or two of Beowulfs and attack a countryside village? That was usually enough to take the edge off his boredom. 

Just as Ozpin stood to do just that, the door to his office opened. He was startled to see Pyrrha come in alone; he expected her and her sisters to be out for a few more hours at least, so why… Well, he only questioned until he saw her hooded head and her tear-stained face. He rushed over. “Darling?” He cupped her cheeks and wiped away some of the old tears. “Darling, what happened?”

“I-” Her voice hitched and a new round of tears leaked from her eyes. “Father, I’m so sorry!”

“What is it, angel, what happened?”

“We… we were out collecting Dust, like you ordered when… when we were attacked by a Huntress. It was Goodwitch.” Black bile filled Ozpin’s mouth. “Ruby was in the Bullhead, but Weiss wasn’t, so we flew over to help her, and, and she caught us. With her telekinesis. So Ruby… Ruby jumped out so I could escape and I-!”

“Oh, darling.” Ozpin pulled her into his arm, letting her sob freely into his black coat. He stroked her hair as he trembled with rage, but he was careful not to let it leak into his voice. “It’s not your fault, angel, it’s not. No one blames you.” 

“But- But you’re angry!!”

“Shh, not at you, precious, never at you.” He kissed her temple and held her tighter. “I could never get angry at you, or your siblings.”

No, he was angry at himself. He knew Ruby wasn’t ready for a mission, even a supervised one; she was too naive, too distracted, too immature. She was so young compared to the rest of her siblings, even Oscar who was technically younger but acted older. And he should have known that Pyrrha wasn’t the right choice to go with them, that her status as the Fall Maiden needed to be protected. He should have sent Nora, or Yang, or a hoard of Grimm along with them, but…

It was his fault. Those bastards had his children and it was his fault. 

His fault. 

I̷̟̫̼̣͑̐͋̈́t̴̨̢̼̘̟̱̘̘̲̔̾͠ ̴̹̓͑̂͒̿ͅw̷̫̞̣͉̲͚͘͜a̵͔̖̤͎̓͌̈́̌̚s̵͓̙̝̻͍͓̯̤͊̉ ̸̖͍̠͆ͅa̶̛̓̌͑̆̑́ͅľ̴̫͇̖͖̪̟͍͒̈́͌̐̓̽͠l̷͚̼̪͂̄͛̆ ̶̛̞̬̼̆́̈́́̂̽͘͘͠H̶͕̗̗̹̪̩̎̋͋̿̂͘̚͜͝ĭ̷͈̟̟̣̳̼̲s̸̡̪͕͇̰̳̭̔͂ ̵̢̛̻͉̬͖̝͌̾̏͗͘͝F̷̩̹̦͂̌̍͆́̃̂͘A̶̜̐̅̈̆͂͂̀U̸͖̲̯͈͎͆̊̏͊͝L̶̩͓̲̻͙̮͓͍̊͐̈́̀T̴̨̪͇̥̝̮͇̯͕̞̈̑̌̌̐.̶̦̜̣̭̥͈͖̼̝͆

̶͕̖̰̬̏͂͆̂̉N̷̡̡̟̹͚̱̦̯̩̣̽̋̇͒̓̈́͝o̴͈̯̓͛.̵̥̬̠͔̱̩̈̊͆̓͘

̶̛͚͈̀̉̄͂̆͘I̴̛͍̞̲̅́͊͠ṫ̸̻̃̃̍͛̋ ̵͕͕͇̩̲̳͌̃͊̒̿́̊͠ͅŵ̷̧̠͎̟̻͙̝̳̇̂̂̈́͋̚ą̸̣̮͓͈̬͊̊̆̊̂͂̈́̚s̷̤̜͉̲̱̰̦͒̈̈́̅͋͠ ̴͉̙̬̦̟̳̔͂̈́̂͛̃͌͑̕̕S̷̝̟̻͙̙̹͒̾À̷̠̱̭̼̲̂̈́́̇͗͝L̸̛̩̟̠̞̫̝̋̋̊͌̑͝E̸̦͈̭͉̹͊̄͝Ṃ̶̖̠͛͌́̈́̚'̸̻̝̼̞̓͌͌̀͂͗̔S̸̞̠̫͖̹̯͚̹̺͆̽ ̵̢̲̬̜̹̣͛̔̓̿̓̈́̕͠͝F̶̬̼̭͙͚̬͂̋Ḁ̶̳̹̮̤̝̘̬͇͚̈́̽̐͘͝Ṷ̵͙͇̱̯͑̒̆͐̐͜L̸̨̢̳̩͖͉̔T̵̘̥̤͍̰͋͗́̊̕͠.̷̛̬̝͇͇͇̗͇͍͔̅̆̔̏̀͗͋͆̚

That witch of an ex-wife was trying to take more children away from him! Well, he wouldn’t let that happen, no not this time. A maniacal grin twisted his face as he pet Pyrrha’s hair.  _ It’s the beginning of the end for you, Salem, _ he thought.  _ And I can’t wait to burn you alive myself. _


	2. The Day I was Imprisoned by my Dad's Mortal Enemy

Two aura-suppressing shackles decorated Ruby’s wrists. The metal bit into her skin, cold and unforgiving and irritating the wounds she had gained by trying to free herself. She knew how to escape handcuffs - Nora and Ren had guaranteed she knew how - but they were just too _tight._

She wanted out. She wanted her Daddy, and her siblings, and her locket, _give her her locket back-_

The door to her interrogation room opened and two women entered, her enemies inherited. The first was Glynda Goodwitch and it irritated Ruby to see that nothing she had done to the woman in their fight had stayed around. Her aura must have healed her, Ruby realized as her own wounds continued to ache after the thorough thrashing she had received. 

However, it was the second woman who caused her to freeze. She knew that face. She’d known it since she was a child, from lessons with Uncle Hazel to avoid her at all costs, from Tyrian cursing her name, from swearing with her siblings to gain revenge on her for the pain she caused their father. The witch, the false goddess, the betrayer. 

Salem.

Ruby could only watch the predator approach, chained as she was, and Salem sat in the chair across from her. She was beautiful, like the poisonous flowers that grew in the Land of Darkness, pale and appearing fragile while hiding a terrible secret. Her clothes white, her skin flawless, her hair near colorless, her eyes a washed out blue… it seemed like she was designed to look as pure and light as possible. When compared to Ruby - who was all black and red and silver - it was intimidating. 

Salem smiled and Ruby hated her immediately. “Ruby Rose…” How did she know her name!? “You… have silver eyes.”

Ruby blinked in confusion. “Um…” slipped out without her consent. 

“So! It seems you’re in quite a lot of trouble, Miss Rose.” Ruby’s jaw clenched. “Armed robbery is something we take seriously in Vale. And while this is the only robbery we have evidence you were involved with, your association with Miss Schnee-”

“Don’t call her that!” She couldn’t stop herself. 

The witch cocked an eyebrow. “That’s her name. Anyway, the presence of Miss Schnee can allow the police to connect you with all of her recent robberies in the city. That’s over twenty crimes that could be on your record. But, if you can clear some things up for us…”

“So, you just want to blackmail then?” Ruby snorted. “I figured as much. Don’t try and make this out like you’re doing me some huge favor; I already know that you only pretend to be nice.”

Salem pretended to look sad. It was almost convincing except Ruby knew the woman didn’t have enough emotions left to feel for real. “I suppose… that’s what Ozpin told you, yes? That is the name of his most recent incarnation.” Ruby bristled with rage. How dare she casually say Daddy’s name!? “He’s rather skilled at word play and persuasion; I should have expected him to be willing to brainwash children to his side.”

“How dare you!” Ruby shouted. “Daddy would never do something like that!”

Her eyes widened. “You think… he’s your father? Miss Rose-”

“I don’t think so, I know so! He’s my dad, and I have no others beside him!”

She frowned. “I see… does your sister, Yang, think so as well?”

Ruby flinched away. “How… how do you know about Yang?”

“You both went missing at the same time.” Glynda gave Salem a folder and Salem opened it to show Ruby. “This is the police report your father filled out. Your _real_ father, not Ozpin. It mentions that you and Yang went missing at the same time, when you were two and she was four, see?”

Ruby leaned as far as she could to look at the police report. Someone named Taiyang and Qrow had reported them missing; she didn’t recognize the first name, but the other she vaguely remembered as one of the people Daddy cursed to be birds. The rest of the information didn’t matter much, but her eyes were drawn to the identifying photograph. It was certainly her and Yang, even as young as they were. Neither one seemed to change much over the years, Ruby thought, absent-mindedly tugging her hair. 

“Does Miss Schnee also consider Ozpin her father?” Ruby nodded, a little out of it. 

She had forgotten Weiss! Ruby had no idea where she was or… Oh, Grimm, please no. They didn't send her back to her original father already, did they!? “Where’s Weiss?” Please answer, please answer, please-

“Miss Schnee is in another interrogation room here.” Ruby sagged at the answer. “You seem very concerned for her well-being.” 

“Of course I’m concerned. She’s my big sister.” She swallowed. “What’s… what’s going to happen to us?”

Salem nodded. “Right. Since you are both minors, and registered as missing persons, first we need to contact your families and the authorities searching for you. You’ll both may end up in a juvenile detention facility, but Miss Schnee’s father will most likely try to submit a plea for house arrest so that she can return to Atlas-”

“You can’t let him do that! He’ll hurt her!”

“Surely not; he’s her father, after all-”

“Yes, he will!” Ruby banged her fists on the table, shaking it despite being bolted to the floor. Frustrated tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. “He’s done it before, he’ll do it again! Just _ask_ her!”

Salem leaned back in her metal chair, just looking at Ruby with an impassive expression. “Glynda, how would you rank Miss Rose’s skill in combat?”

Goodwitch frowned but answered, “I would say it’s around similar levels to our incoming first-years, or thereabouts. Miss Schnee is above her in skill, but not by much. Why?”

“Since Miss Schnee has been kidnapped for over six years now, there likely won’t be any remaining evidence to Miss Rose’s claim. Obviously, we would still have to contact General Ironwood, since he is the head of her investigation, but we could probably arrange something from there.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Define ‘something.’”

“It’s true, the crimes you both committed are extensive, but you’re both minors. When one factors in the fact that you’ve been brainwashed-”

“-We’re _not_ brainwashed!”

“-it becomes clear that neither of you are entirely to blame for your… crime spree. So long as you’re both heavily supervised, you could be free with only some community service… as long as you attend Beacon Academy. Fortunately, our newly established Probationary Department is top of the line!”

Behind her, Glynda coughed. Salem flushed and continued, “...is what I’d like to say, but this department was only created today, after I received word of your imprisonment. Miss Schnee and yourself would be our first test cases.”

“So, what? You’ll forget our crimes if we attend school?” It sounded impossible, and yet… Ruby had always wanted to see Beacon, to observe Huntsmen up close. 

“With a few caveats, yes.” Salem tried to hold her hands, but Ruby pulled away before they touched. “I know you don’t see it right now, Miss Rose, but I’m only doing this because I want to save you.”

Ruby scowled before schooling her face. She didn’t _need_ to be saved! But… attending Beacon would keep Weiss out of her bastard old man’s hands. And while it was right under Salem’s nose, attending Beacon would allow Daddy to locate them faster. Her Daddy wasn’t all knowing after all, if Salem hid them under a rock, chained with aura suppressors, they might never get to go home. Beacon, meanwhile, hosted the Vytal Festival which was televised all over the four kingdoms. No doubt he would notice her and Weiss there if he hadn’t found them by the year’s end.

Ruby bit her lip as she made her decision. “I’ll… I’ll attend if Weiss does.”

Salem smiled and Ruby couldn’t help but feel threatened and patronized at the same time. “Excellent. Thank you, Miss Rose.”

* * *

They were silent, contemplating, as they returned to Beacon. It wasn't until the two women were inside Salem's personal elevator that Glynda spoke. “You didn’t even interrogate them.”

“I was… caught off guard,” was Salem’s only defense. “It’s been several centuries since Ozpin had children and usually they’re quick to betray him.” After their children, Ozpin became possessive over any children he had, to the point where he’d break their legs to keep them by his side. Most were grateful to be saved, but these two… “They’re very loyal to him. We need for them to trust us before we can get information out of them.”

“That will be difficult.” Glynda’s grip on her whip tightened. “Summer’s daughter calling Ozpin ‘Daddy’...” 

“It is rather nauseating.” She remembered Summer fondly, the silver-eyed girl having blossomed into a fierce warrior under Salem’s care. She never returned from her final mission, from destroying Ozpin, and Salem could only assume it was because he killed her first. 

Not four months later, Summer’s children were gone. 

“Still, I wonder who taught her to fight with a scythe,” Glynda said. “The only person skilled enough for such a weapon is-”

The elevator doors opened and they were greeted by a slurred, “Hey, Salem! Too you long enough!”

“Hello, Qrow.” Salem took her place behind the headmaster’s desk. His skin was pale and sweaty, and there were visible bags under his eyes. He was still drunk. 

“So, you want to explain why you called me back early, boss?” Qrow asked. “I was kinda in the middle of something.”

“You mean your efforts to owe debt to every bar in Remnant?” Glynda accused. 

“Excuse you. I’ve been busting my ass out there, tracking down the person who attacked Amber. What have you been doing, huh?”

“Locating your niece, apparently,” Salem said. She tapped a few keys and a hologram of the Dust Heist from earlier that night appeared. Ruby Rose was clearly visible in all the recordings. 

Qrow immediately stopped glaring at Glynda to stare, wide-eyed, at the video feed. It was like he couldn’t look away. “Ruby…” he rasped, and Salem swore she saw a tear. “When?”

“Tonight. She and another kidnapped girl, Weiss Schnee, were caught robbing a Dust store, and can be connected to other Dust robberies in the area.”

“What!?” He rushed to stand, knocking his chair over. “Ruby wouldn’t do that!”

“I caught her in the act,” Glynda replied. “And you haven’t seen the girl since she was two. You have no idea what she could be capable of now.”

“That’s not true! She’s _Summer’s_ daughter, _Tai’s_ daughter! She never do something like-”

“Qrow, Ozpin raised her.” Salem’s words froze the shapeshifter. “She has no memories of you, or Summer, or Taiyang. She considers him her father, even calling him ‘Daddy.’ She called the Schnee girl her sister and likely has called her so for the entire six years they’ve known each other.”

Qrow stumbled back, devastation plain on his face. “And… and Yang?”

“Likely the same. It’s likely that she was the one flying the Bullhead that made off with the stolen Dust.”

“But-” he collapsed to his knees, raking his fingers through his hair. “But he killed Summer! How can she-”

“I doubt Miss Rose knows and, if we told her, I’m not sure she would care. Both girls are… deeply devoted to Ozpin.” Almost disturbingly so. Miss Schnee seemed more restrained in her affection towards her adoptive father, but became infuriated and tried to attack Salem when she tried to ask about him or her ‘sisters.’ 

Qrow rubbed his hand into his eyes. “...This is going to break what’s left of Tai’s heart.”

Salem closed her eyes, looking away. “I hope not. Right now, we need to introduce the girls to the world outside of Ozpin’s influence, to people who will care about them, so we can reverse the damage he’s no doubt done to their psyche’s. For Miss Rose, I want to hire both you and Taiyang as instructors.”

“Me? But I’ve never taught before… And Tai…” 

“We’ll figure out the details before the new semester is in full swing.” Salem sighed. “For now, I need you to… to break the news to Taiyang. He’ll take it better from you.”

The shapeshifter looked unsure, but nodded nonetheless. “Will… will Ruby be alright?”

Salem’s gaze softened. “Qrow. I promise you, I will do anything in my power to free Miss Rose from Ozpin’s influence.”

Even if that meant freeing Miss Rose from her life.

* * *

Ozpin exited his office and neatly dodged a shot-gun gauntlet to the face. The Dust explosion barely scorched his hair. 

Three of his children had been waiting in ambush for him: his fierce Yang, gold like the sun and twice as fiery; his dear Blake, his most recent adoptee and warrior for justice; and his strong Jaune, his brilliant General of Evil. The three looked ready to start a riot, though the later two seemed to be there mostly for support, and he sensed his remaining children lying in wait nearby. It was adorable; they thought they could strong-arm him into whatever hairbrained scheme they’ve come up with. 

It would be sweet if they didn’t seem determined to get themselves killed or captured. 

Yang attacked again, but Ozpin grabbed her fist, his aura absorbing the blast. He tsked. “You’re getting predictable, my dear hellraiser. You know what giving into your anger does to you.” He eyed the scorch mark on the wall; sure, you couldn’t tell it was there, what with the obsidian stone, but he would _know_ it was there. 

She yanked her hand away, her red eyes blazing. “Why aren’t we going to rescue Ruby and Weiss!?” she spat. “I know your informant already confirmed that they’ll attend Beacon; let us apply at the last minute so we can free them!”

“You know that’s not going to work,” he chided. “Salem will be on the lookout for any possible spies now that she’s kidnapped your sisters. It would be one thing if you had been scheduled to attend before they were taken, but now? I’m not losing more children to her.”

All three flinched at that and guilt twisted his stomach. He didn’t want to hurt them. He just… he _needed_ them to be safe. Even now, every irrational part of him was baying for Salem’s blood for stealing his daughters, but he couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t afford to die now, to waste even more time taking control of a new soul, a new host. 

They were his _children_ . Salem was killing his children _again_ . He couldn’t… _he wouldn’t…_

Ozpin forced a smile to delay the inevitable breakdown. “I understand. I want to bring them home too. But I have the rest of you to worry about as well.” He placed a hand on Yang’s shoulder. “I have a plan and you’ll all have your parts to play. Even then, I still can’t send you to Beacon, Yang.”

“But-!”

“Yang, they know what you look like.” He pulled her into a hug. “I don’t want to lose you too.”

She hugged him back. “Okay, Dad,” she said in a small voice that didn’t suit her. She sniffled into his coat. “What’s the plan?”

“For that, I think it’s time for a family meeting,” he said slightly louder than before, so all his children knew he was talking to them. They slowly shuffled from their hiding places, embarrassed at being caught. Well, expect for Nora, who seemed immune to embarrassment. “After all, I’m going to need a lot of help to save your sisters, obtain the remaining powers of the Fall Maiden, _and_ destroy Beacon.”

That got their attention. By the Grimm, his children were so similar to him when they wanted to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUGE NOTICE, PLEASE PAY ATTENTION  
> I realized when I wrote the first chapter that I put myself into a bit of a bind. By having Ozpin adopt every member of Team RWBY and Team JNPR, pretty much every ship between them is techniqually incest (bc they all share and adopted parent and were raised together). I've decided to allow the more canon ships (Arkos, ReNora, eventually BumbleBY, maybe RoseGarden since I ship it) in this story. I understand, adopted sibling incest is still incest, but... well, they're on the "evil" side and no one is blood-related but Yang and Ruby. 
> 
> I'm not going to write anything sexual regarding their relationships and Ruby herself, despite being the protagonist of this story, isn't getting romanced until she matures by a lot. I'm writing her immature on purpose and she has a lot of growing up to do before she gets into romance. 
> 
> IF THESE RELATIONSHIPS BOTHER OR TRIGGER YOU IN ANYWAY, I advise you to stop reading, please. If you were really excited for an evil dadpin au and are now put off by the story, someone on tumblr asked just a few days ago for permission to write a story using the au, so it's not like this will be a one of a kind story. 
> 
> I'll tag ships as I go so as to not pollute the tags.


End file.
